Lightstone Group seeks EB-5 funds for $700M FiDi condo project

UPDATED, May 26, 1:00 p.m.: David Lichtenstein’s Lightstone Group is seeking EB-5 funds for its 228-unit Financial District condominium tower, which will be designed by noted architect David Adjaye and is expected to be valued at $701 million.

The developer recently launched a teaser site for the 800-foot building at 130 William Street, which it is calling the Wall Street Tower. On Lightstone’s EB-5 website, the company is seeking $100 million, or 18 percent of the project’s total cost, from investors, and is marketing the project to investors in China and Vietnam.

Representatives for the company did not immediately return calls for comment.

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In March, Lightstone secured a $305 million construction loan for the 59-story tower from Mack Credit Real Estate Strategies, and plans to put $112.5 million of its own cash and land equity into the project, according to its EB-5 website.

The company bought the site at 130 William Street for $60 million in 2014, and paid another $15 million the following year to buy additional air rights.

On a Vietnamese-language blog Lightstone identifies the British-Ghanaian architect Adjaye as the designer.

“What Made The Wall Street Tower truly special was that it was the design. We have the world-famous architect David Adjaye, who designed this building. The building is over 800 feet tall, with more than 60 floors. The building has panoramic views over the entire city. You can see the port of New York, along with bridges, the Statue of Liberty.”

Adjaye is best known for designing the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. He told The Real Deal that the current design is in its early stages, and may change in the future.

“These images only reflect early conceptual studies of the building,” he said. “We remain in the process of refining and evolving the design, with imagery adjusting accordingly. We look forward to sharing final renderings in the coming months.”

In New York, he designed a 124-unit, affordable housing building at 155th Street in Sugar Hill For The Broadway Housing Communities and the Studio Museum in Harlem.

The marketing materials for Lightstone’s tower boast a rooftop observatory for residents and two floors of amenities including a wine cellar, indoor pool and spa, fitness center, lounge, movie theater and children’s playroom.

The teaser site indicates pricing will start at roughly $630,000 for a studio and $4.7 million for a four-bedroom.

The developer is still waiting for approval on the condo-offering plan it filed with the New York State Attorney General’s office in December. Construction is expected to be completed in November 2019.